mulwin444

I am currently hiding behind a literal wall of toilet papers rolls...Covid can't touch me

No...nobody is eating at Wendy's

So, I was planning on a bigger piece to kind of encompass everything until 2020 but, with recent suspension of all baseball related activities, I thought this would give something else to discuss...so here's part 1: I always find it fascinating to look back into decisions made by the Angels franchise that essentially define its nature, both within the fan base and from the outsider's perspective. With the franchise closing in on 60 years, we are now starting to get dividing lines in regards to specific eras of its history that take us from the expansionist beginning, the surprise success of '62, the Fregosi-led teams of the mid-to-late 60's and the fight for team identity and relevance, the trade before the '72 season that brought them Nolan Ryan, "Tanana and Ryan and two days of cryin'", the death of Lyman Bostock, "Yes We Can!" in 1979,, Buzzie Bavasi thinking Ryan was just a .500 pitcher, the veteran-led playoff team of '82, the disastrous game 5 of the 1986 ALCS... Lots to review and breakdown but I was more curious as to the turning points, both positive and negative, that have occurred since Arte Moreno's purchase of the franchise in 2003. With the Angels coming off a World Championship in 2002, and the sale of the franchise note announced until May 15, 2003, Arte didn't really get a chance to make his mark until the off-season. 2004 Spending Spree: Fresh off a disappointing 2003 season, Arte opened up the check book and immediately turned the franchise fortunes around by signing Kelvim Escobar, Jose Guillen, Bartolo Colon, and, to the surprise of literally everyone, generational talent Vladimir Guerrero. This was a significant change from the Jackie Autry and Disney ownerships of the past decade that envisioned the Angels as more of a small-to-mid market franchise and spent accordingly. By contrast, Arte brought in legitimate talent in their prime (Escobar at 28, Guillen at 28, and Guerrero at 29) and got himself a top of the rotation starter in Colon. This season set the tone for the Angels going forward as it announced their intention of being perennial contender for the AL West. Troy Glaus' Departure: After two injury-plagued seasons in 2003 and 2004, Troy Glaus was not pursued by the Angels as a free agent option at 3B. Dallas McPherson tore through AA Arkansas and AAA Salt Lake to the tune of .317 .387 1.057 OPS and was viewed as the heir apparent and, ironically, a supposed answer to the inconsistency at 3B due to Glaus' DL visits. However, chronic back issues derailed McPherson's career to the point of back surgery and he never reached his potential. As a result, the Angels attempted to fill in the gap with Chone Figgins, Maicer Izturis, Robb Quinlan, Edgardo Alfonzo, Shane Halter and Shea Hillenbrand before finally settling on Chone as the permanent starter for the 2009, a year before his departure in free agency. After that, it was still a mixed bag of fill-ins and disappointments with Alberto Callaspo, Brandon Wood, Kevin Frandsen, Luis Jimenez, David Freese, Yunel Escobar, Luis Valbuena, Taylor Ward and Zach Cozart. Alternatively, Glaus went on to play 6 more seasons (almost all of 2009 was lost to injury) with Arizona, Toronto, St Louis, and Atlanta while putting up a 15.4 WAR between 2005 - 2008. Bill Stoneman Continues to Build Team through Free Agency: More representative of an era than a specific date or offseason, Bill Stoneman defined his time as Angels GM as an executive who sought Free Agents to fill in the talent gaps as opposed to trading away his prospect currency. At the time, there was a lot of evidence to support this approach as the 2002 team, and subsequent playoff teams of the mid-to-late 2000's, were built on a combination of farm talent and free agent signings. 2004 was Molina, Erstad, Anderson, Salmon, Glaus, Lackey, Washburn, Percival, Shields and KRod mixed with the previously mentioned haul in free agency. 2005 saw more of the same as they brought in Steve Finley, Paul Byrd, Orlando Cabrera, and Esteban Yan, 2006 had Hector Carrasco and J.C. Romero, and 2007 saw Gary Matthews Jr, Darren Oliver, Justin Speier before Stoneman stepped down in 10/2007. By leaning heavily on Free Agency, Stoneman was able to supplement the existing roster but ultimately at the expense of the upcoming drafts. So, in 2004, the Angels were able to score big when Jered Weaver fell to them at the 10th due to sign-ability concerns they lost their 2nd and 3rd round pick due to signing Colon and Escobar. Additionally, in 2005, they lost their 1st round pick due to signing OCab (got a late 1st round supplemental pick for losing Percival, chose Trevor Bell) , lost 2006 2nd round pick for Carrasco signing, lost 2007 1st and 2nd round picks due to Matthews and Speier signings (got a late supplemental 1st rounder due to losing Kennedy, chose Jon Bachanov), and lost 2008 1st round pick due to Hunter. So, between 2005 - 2008, they only picked three times in the late 1st round. This was a gamble because it was absolutely depending on the next wave of talent coming after 2004 to become at least major league regulars and, honestly, it was a mixed bag. For every success (Ervin Santana, Joe Saunders, Kendrys Morales, Howie Kendrick, Jered Weaver, Erick Aybar, Mike Napoli) there was a missed opportunities (McPherson, Casey Kotchman, Jeff Mathis, Chris Bootcheck, Brandon Wood, Sean Rodriguez, Kevin Jepsen, Trevor Bell) and, by the time 2010 rolled around, the farm was in a sorry state. The Mark Teixeira Trade and the 2009 draft In 2007, after the Angels had just finished another season which ended in an AL West crown, their third in the past four seasons, and another playoff loss to the eventual World Champion Red Sox, newly promoted GM Tony Reagins attempted to address their rather average offense by signing Torii Hunter to pair with Vlad Guerrero in the middle of the order. By mid-season, though, despite being 26 games over .500, the starting pitching and bullpen was once again doing the heavy lifting that season. Casey Kotchman was one of those offensive players that was struggling to find his form with a rather tepid .287 .327 .774 OPS. While not terrible, it was certainly under what is traditionally expected of a 1B and well under the .296 .372 .840 OPS he posted the season before. At the trade deadline, Reagins made his move and brought in 1B slugger Mark Teixeira, a legit switch-hitting middle-of-the-order presence to bat in front of Vlad and Torii. Now, if this felt like an odd occurrence in regards to recent Angels’ history, it’s only because, under Stoneman, a mid-season acquisition usually resembled Alex Ochoa. Despite the shot in the arm, he gave to the offense (.358 .449 1.081 OPS 181 OPS+ 3.7 WAR), Teixeira was definite risk to be lost to free agency once the season was over and, after the season, the Angels might again be looking for a new 1B. Well, the “worst case scenario” came to pass: Teixeira signed with Yankees, giving Arte a case of the “sads”, but, luckily for him, the Angels front office signed a stud Cuban player named Kendry(s) Morales a few seasons prior and all he did was put up .306 .355 .924 OPS 139 OPS+ 4.3 WAR to help lead them to the 2009 AL West. On top of that, Scouting Director Eddie Bane leveraged the draft picks (1st rounder and a supplemental 1st rounder) from losing Teixeira to draft Mike Trout…yes, THE Mike Trout and Tyler Skaggs. Additionally, Bane proceeded to draft Randall Grichuk, Garrett Richards, and Patrick Corbin as well for a ridiculous 1st/2nd round haul. Despite is previous neglect, the Angels’ farm system got a much needed shot in the arm. The Death of Nick Adenhart: The morning of April 9th, 2009 was surreal. A post on this message board announced what had happened but the words didn't make sense...it just didn't seem possible and there was no way to really conceptualize it. I remember refreshing the website over and over again as the news changed from uncertainty to disbelief to stunning realization. Even over a decade later, just typing the words brings a familiar ache as well as memories of Jered Weaver’s tributes during and after that season, including naming his son after him. Obviously, a baseball game seems trivial in comparison to life and death but baseball was not going to stop to let the Angels mourn. After one suspended game, the Angels were back on the field to deal with tragedy both individually and collectively. They could have folded under the weight of those events but they persevered, using what they could to inspire them to an AL West title, past their playoff nemesis, the Red Sox, only to come up just short against the Yankees in the ALCS. Whether or not Adenhart would have been a factor in that series is a question but what we do know is, despite a late season acquisition of Scott Kazmir, the Angels didn’t have the arms to compete against the playoff tested Yankees. Going forward, it also meant the Angels were down one starting pitcher they were counting on to make a contribution for 2010 and beyond and eventually led to both signing Joel Pinera and trading for Dan Haren. Just 2010…All of it Where to begin…so the Angels lost the 2009 ALCS to the Yankees and went into the offseason knowing that Vlad Guerrero, John Lackey and Chone Figgins, keys to their recent playoff runs, were likely gone and they were really counting on guys like Kendrys Morales, Bobby Abreu, Juan Rivera, Mike Napoli and Torii Hunter to continue to provide the extra base power, starters like Scott Kazmir and Joe Saunders to stabilize the rotation behind Weaver and Santana, and for players like Howie Kendrick, Erick Aybar, Kevin Jepsen, and Brandon Wood to continue to develop. That, for the most part, didn’t happen. Bobby Abreu was feeling all 36 years of age putting up a .255 .352 .787 OPS 1.9 WAR, Juan Rivera saw his production drop to .252 .312 .721 OPS -0.2 WAR, but at least Torii Hunter was solid, despite his penchant for getting thrown out trying to steal. Lots of struggling…but the gut-punch was Kendrys Morales’ broken ankle jumping on home plate after a game winning grand slam. Seriously, what the f…?! Hard to remember a time when you went from absolute joy to utter misery within a few minutes. What that meant was, besides the huge bat out of the line-up and Napoli eventually had to move to 1B. As for the younger players, Kendrick finally made it through a whole season where he wasn’t injured or demoted but put up .279 .313 .721 OPS 99 OPS+, Aybar’s offensive numbers fell off a cliff to .253 .306 .636 OPS 77 OPS+, and Brandon Wood, highly touted prospect and supposed future franchise 3B, put up a historically brutal .146 .174 .382 OPS 6 OPS+. As for the pitching, Joel Pinero was signed to bring some depth to the rotation and on the DL by mid-July and didn’t come back until mid-September, when the Angels were already out of it. Additionally, Scott Kazmir, who was being counted on to pick up some of the slack after Lackey departed for Boston, was awful. It was just one mediocre start after another culminating in memorable July start against Oakland which saw him put up a line of: 5.0 IP 11 H 13 ER 3 BB 2 SO 3 HR This prompted a “DL visit” and a search for answers on the Angels’ part. The Angels answer? On 07/25/2010, the Angels sent Joe Saunders, Patrick Corbin, Rafael Rodriguez and a PTBNL (Tyler Skaggs) for Dan Haren…Woof. While Dan Haren was a definite high-end starter, that was a lot of starting pitching currency to give up even with the move being made with 2011 in mind. Despite the best efforts of everyone involved, the team never got back on track and the team’s struggles set the tone for the 2010 offseason. Part 2...coming soon

Unless he's hurt, he has a spot because they need reliable BP arms. Eppler has brought a lot of guys to camp that could fill a roll like that but none of them have Cam's history nor put up 3.23 ERA 141 ERA+ 1.141 WHIP in 61.1 IP last season with a 9.4 K/9. Some of the other guys have options and will likely start in AAA as depth. Not to mention they already negotiated a $2.8 m contract for next season. Kyle Keller and Jose Quijada both can strike out some guys but have issues with walks. Mike Mayers has never really been good in any of his stints in the MLB. Ryan Buchter is interesting and could be in the mix. Jose Rodriguez may be something at some point. J.C. Ramirez is a "?". Luke Bard is someone they hope reaches their potential at some point. Taylor Cole has talent but is inconsistent. Matt Ball, Jacob Barnes, Adrian De Horta, Parker Markel, Hoby Milner, Neil Ramirez, Jake Thompson. Looking at the bullpen options as a whole, he's one of the few guys that you can anticipate some kind of decent performance from next season.

"to some" = actual qualified professionals

"Groin issue"...wonder where that came from?

"Chronic Changes" = usual wear and tear The MRI didn't reveal even a grade 1 sprain...which is probably why they don't know what to with it at this point.

Surgery on what though? His UCL is not damaged. Maybe exploratory surgery...I guess

"Biological injections" (shrug)

You are signing him, basically, to add him to the 40 man roster and then assigning him to the 60 day injured list so someone would have to be waived to take him on, hopefully make it through waivers and then add them back. Then, there is the uncertainty of his pay since you paying him a guaranteed amount upfront with no idea if or when he'll return. Anyway, I though the "injured player who could return to form" portion was covered by Luiz Gohara and J.C. Ramirez. And, let's be honest, Sanchez hasn't done anything since 2016. Could he return to some type of form? Sure...just seems we have healthier and readier options already in camp.

"On August 20, Sanchez left the game early with right pectoral discomfort. An MRI revealed a torn capsule in his right shoulder, and Jeff Luhnow announced on September 5 that Sanchez would miss the rest of the 2019 season and possibly the 2020 season as well." https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2019/09/aaron-sanchez-to-miss-start-of-2020-season.html Last update was on 12/02/2019: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2019/12/astros-to-non-tender-aaron-sanchez.html and there is no notes anywhere I can find on his rehab or prognosis. I imagine, with the injuries surrounding this team the past few years, I doubt Eppler is eager to sign another IL candidate

We've had a ton of injured pitchers the last 4 seasons...

Hey man, spin it how ever you want. After the majority of the rotation got injured in 2016, Eppler was left with rebuilding an offense, a pitching staff, a bullpen and a minor league system ranked 30th in the league with not a ton of financial wiggle room. Free agent signings for the most part are hit and miss, factor in trying to shop for bargains with upside and your odds are even less but free agency wasn't how he tried to rebuild since A - he needed draft picks so he couldn't sign guys that had QA's and B - rebuilding teams are not signing top free agents when they are still likely 2-3 years away from being competitive. So, going into 2017 with depleted pitching, bad farm and a ton of holes to fill in ever facet of your team you take a chance on Luis Valbuena, who had averaged over 2.0 WAR over the previous three seasons between Chicago and Houston, you give a one year deal to Jesse Chavez hoping he can replicate his career number over 150 or so innings, solidify your bullpen with one year of Yusmeiro Petit, you take a one year chance on Bud Norris having anything...all while making tiny trades with little impact on your future like trading nobody Rondons for Cameron Maybin, Danny Espinosa, Martin Maldonado, Yunel Escobar and working the waiver wire acquiring guys like Blake Parker, Parker Bridwell, JC Ramirez, Troy Scribner, Blake Wood, and Noe Ramirez. The difference between shopping while rebuilding and shopping while contending means you end of up with Anthony Rendon and offer 8 years to Garrit Cole, both of which are great bets to give you All Star performances.

Because Ohtani's signing is comparable to Arol Vera's, right? Wasn't aware the Yankees and Dodgers broke their big marketing guns to lure Arol to their respective franchises...will have to check into that In the meantime, I'll enjoy Arol stepping right in and making an immediate impact of the MLB team.

They still won 85 games with that offense...which included Calhoun, Freese, Pujols, and Cron at 100 OPS+ or above. With Eppler's tweaks before 2016, the offense added 50+ more runs...yet they only won 74 games. The pitching was the difference.

It's also why they appeared to be competitive going into 2016. Even if Weaver continued his decline (which he did), GRich was a top of the line starter, Santiago at least appeared to be a solid mid-rotation innings eater, Heaney looked impressive, Shoemaker had some good numbers prior and could at least be counted on to be a back of the rotation starter, and Tropeano looked solid in 7 starts (3.93 ERA 100 ERA+). There appeared to be dependable talent and depth and then: Heaney was disabled after 1 start Richards goes down to an elbow injury on May 6th Tropeano season ended July 18th Skaggs didn't return until late July Shoemaker was nailed in head with a line drive in Sept At one stretch, our starters were Ricky Nolasco, Tim Lincecum, Jhoulys Chacin, a depleted Jered Weaver, and a returning Tyler Skaggs.

"All of Eppler’s free agent signings have been garbage."

Haven't scanned the transactions since end of 2015 but this one was pretty good: December 9, 2017 Signed Shohei Ohtani as a free agent.

"surprisingly" remains without a job...

Ohtani sounds like he won't be in the mix until mid-May and Canning is a "?" so first month and a half is likely Teheran, Heaney, Bundy, and some combination of Andriese, Sandoval, Barria, Suarez, and Peters which, with this offense, should be enough to keep them in it until Ohtani returns and the rotational hierarchy becomes clearer.

Yeah, that's essentially it, they were in it until the last day in 2015, with a huge comeback the day before: https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/TEX/TEX201510030.shtml With a rotation of Garrett Richards (3.65 ERA 1.04 ERA+ 1.240 WHIP in 207.1 IP), Hector Santiago (3.59 ERA 1.05 ERA+ 1.256 WHIP in 180.2 IP), Andrew Heaney (3.49 ERA 108 ERA+ 1.202 WHIP in 18 GS 105.2 IP), Matt Shoemaker (4.46 ERA 85 ERA+ 1.256 WHIP in 135.1 IP), and Jered Weaver (4.64 ERA 81 ERA+ 1.233 WHIP in 159 IP) you are expecting to compete in 2016. Eppler coming in to 2016 must have felt pretty good about his chances in a Division where Texas were AL West champs with 88 wins and the Astros barely squeaked in the Wild Card with 86 wins.

5.0 oWAR in 210 games as a DH...I'll trust he can find his way.

He'd be lower-to-mid rotation depth with 2 years left of control but, based on his last few seasons, not sure how much of a difference maker he is: He's teased with talent at times but I'm not sure I'd give up a lot more than Rengifo for him.

Well, he doesn't have options so he either makes the roster or they have to release him. Considering he put up 3.23 ERA 141 ERA+ 1.141 WHIP 9.4 K/9 last season as a back-end bullpen option, I doubt he's going anywhere but staying on the 25 man roster.